When my smoke detector went off last week (triggering the Fire Safety Flop) I had been in the process of making heart-shaped crayons to accompany my kids’ Valentines for their classmates. The project – while tough on my fingernails and cuticles – resulted in a very cute gift for Will and Hallie’s little friends. The project also started Will thinking about the Red Cross (because of the whole Fire Safety Flop and emergency preparedness review course I put him through afterwards), and he suggested we try making heart-shaped crayons with Red Crosses on them.
I thought his idea was a great one, until we acted on it. Despite our best efforts, the result of this project was pretty hideous; the picture below is of the least-disgusting Red Cross crayon we created.
We were in crafting mode at that point though, so we moved on to little Red Cross first aid kits. The “carrying case” was cut out of an extra-long piece of black construction paper (two identical sides connected at the bottom and folded up to one another) and the Red Cross was cut out of a red piece of construction paper.
Inside the kit, Will taped one of each of a variety of items from a real first aid kit. He chose one cotton ball, cotton swab, band-aid, tongue depressor, and disposable plastic glove, but could also have included sanitizing wipes, gauze bandages, etc.
When the kit was finished, he wrote his name – and drew a picture of a mountain range (??) – on the back in white chalk.
So if you’re stuck inside during these last few weeks of winter, consider a spending an afternoon on a Red Cross-themed art project with your kids (or on your own). I wouldn’t recommend Red Cross heart-shaped crayons, but the Red Cross first aid kit was lots of fun.
Next up on our list is some kind of Red Cross cupcake…great, now I’m hungry for cupcakes…and perhaps, if I’m feeling really ambitious and patient, a Red Cross knitting project. Check out a few awesome patterns here!
Happy crafting!